Behind the Stacks
by liveluvlaf
Summary: Zach's strolling through the library on another normal night...sort of.


**_Author's Note_**_ Hi Everyone! It's been a while…a really long time, I know. Feel free to throw the fruit. I can't make any promises about coming back, but this idea popped in my head and I decided to write it down. My obsession for the Gallagher Girls Series has been renewed and I am super excited for September 17th. Please enjoy. This takes place during Out of Sight, Out of Time, during the beginning of Cammie's senior year. _

Zach wandered through the library stacks, mindlessly humming to himself. His fingered grazed along the books, his eyes not even reading the spines. He really shouldn't be here. Dr. Steve had mentioned that he wanted a word with him after dinner, but Zach didn't feel much like talking.

He didn't feel much like doing anything lately. He had barely spoken a sentence to Cammie all week. Somehow, she was the all he could think about.

He was worried, which was normal.

He was worried about Cammie, which was _still _pretty normal.

He was worried that Cammie might run away again. Considering that this was all anyone could think about, it was still _sort of _normal.

Try as he might, he could name a hundred reasons why he was worried, but none of them seemed to explain the way he was feeling right then.

It was a weird feeling. For the first time in months, he felt more like a boy than a spy. He was worried; that much was true. But what was he worried about? He wasn't so sure.

He had reached the end of the aisle, and turned into the next. When he came to the end of _that_ aisle, he turned again, and again, and again. He kept going until he had reached the last few rows. On a random train of thought, Zach wondered if anyone other than Liz had come this far back before. He prided himself on this hugely undeserved, illogical accomplishment.

That was, until he heard the sounds.

It was more of one sound really. Like a steady, low rumbling. It would grow, and then settle in a repeating pattern. It was oddly comforting, and it took Zach a few seconds to realize that he was listening to the sounds of someone snoring.

Expecting to see Liz or one of her younger counterparts among a pile of books, he peeked his head around the corner of the towering shelf. He could not have been more surprised to see a familiar bob of choppy black hair sound asleep on a book about high-level encryption.

"_Cammie." _His voice came out in a whisper and he was surprised he said it.

Slowly he inched forward. She had ink smudged on her cheek and her face was smashed against the book, her mouth open in a way that was anything but attractive. Her clothes were rumpled and when she snored, her entire body would ripple slightly, as if in a shiver. Just as he was about to push a strand of hair away from her face, Cammie let loose a rather loud snore, making the pages of the books around her flap lightly.

Zach chuckled softly and the uneasy feeling from before was gone as he realized there was nowhere else he would rather be.

Gently he moved her head and arms into a more comfortable position. As he shifted her arm, the sleeve of the uniform that was still too big slid down, revealing her bandaged scars.

He took a sharp breath in as a stab of pain, remorse, grief, and everything else he had felt in the past few months flowed through him. Try as he might, he could not stop thinking about what they may have done, how they may have tortured her, the pain she most definitely went through. _The pain that made her forget. _

Just as it was getting to be too much, just as he was about to leave, he heard his name.

"_Zach." _

Wildly he spun around, looking for whoever had spoken. There was no one there. Slowly, calmly, he walked back to Cammie and knelt beside her, his eyes on her face, which was still sound asleep.

"_Zach." _There it was again. His name, clear as day, coming from her lips. She muttered it again, softer, and her head shifted. Suddenly, Zach felt oddly content. A warm feeling coursed through him this time. He smiled. And then frowned. And shook his head. Because Zachary Goode does not get the fuzzies. Especially from a girl who had no idea he was there.

Looking around, he spotted a pillow on one of the reading chairs by the window, picked it up and gently maneuvered Cammie's head onto the pillow. He found her jacket on the floor, and placed it around her shoulders.

He looked down at her one last time, and felt the same feeling in his stomach. He bent down and gently kissed her forehead. Then he turned on his heels and left before

Cammie woke up.

Dr. Steve sent a search party for him.

The librarian showed up

He got any more un-masculine fuzzy feelings

In a few hours, Cammie would jolt awake to the sound of rain pattering against the windows. She would look down and see the pillow and her jacket on her shoulders and have no recollection of how they got there. She would briefly panic that her memory was slipping away…._again. _Then she would calm down, assume that the librarian had taken pity on her, pack up her books, and head upstairs where Bex, Liz, and Macey would surely be waiting for her. She would think nothing of the fact that for the first time, she hadn't heard the music. In fact, she would never know that the person who had taken such good care of her was waiting at the table the next morning, with a crooked smirk and a "Hey Gallagher Girl."

_So what did you guys think? Fun? Boring? I know it's rather tame and probably not the make out action that you're expecting. Leave your reviews and I hope I can get back to you! MWAH!_


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